Edgar Wright Picks Top 10 Films of 2014, Wants More Original Films

We're not even one full day into December, and the folks over at Esquire have already kicked off their year-end lists by asking Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright to pick his Top 10 Films of 2014. You might think that it's a little early with an entire month of movies left to see, but someone like Wright has probably seen most of the awards contenders that haven't hit theaters yet (he saw Interstellar pretty early after all). Wright says, "I thought it was a great year for independent movies," and you'll see a few of them pop up on his list, along with a couple of surprising blockbusters. Look below!

Read Edgar Wright's short blurbs praising each film over at Esquire right here.

If you're wondering what films barely missed the list, Wright also lists: The One I Love, The Guest, Dear White People, Blue Ruin, Locke, Cheap Thrills, The Drop, Palo Alto, Obvious Child and Skeleton Twins as other favorites. Along with his picks, Wright makes the call for Hollywood to make more original movies and audiences to support them. Wright says, "We need to make more original movies and audiences would do well to support original movies, for the future of the medium. I tire of franchises, remakes, and endless sequels. All of the movies I [picked] work great as standalone stories. More please."

Reader Feedback - 17 Comments

So why make a list now? Unless of course the year end for these lists are end of November.

ragethorn on Dec 1, 2014

4

Excellent point, he probably wanted to be first so his didn't get lost in the pile. He sounded like he's got an axe to grind too considering Ant Man was far from an "original idea". The whole thing sounded kind of passive aggressive to me.

MattPeloquin on Dec 1, 2014

5

Edgar Wright didn't go out of his way to get this list out
there of his own volition. I believe he was asked by Esquire to do the list since he tweeted about it here:
https://twitter.com/edgarwright/status/530121569763225600
Also, American Sniper played at AFI Fest last month, so there's a good chance that he saw it there. It's also already been sent out to Academy members as a For Your Consideration screener, so he could have seen the movie that way as well.

Interstellar, snowpiercer and edge of tomorrow all sit comfortably on my list too, so I approve.

Jon Odishaw on Dec 1, 2014

12

I've only seen 6 of these. I didn't care much for Snowpiercer, I thought it went off the rails (drum roll). I loved Whiplash, it's probably number one on mine. So far mine includes: Whiplash, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Raid 2, Fury, Noah, Birdman, Nightcrawler, John Wick, Interstellar, Foxcatcher. I didn't see any of the Marvel movies. I'm hoping Exodus will make it in my top ten, so it's not complete just yet. I'm also a stickler for original movies. Especially this year. Although I liked Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a lot. Biggest disappointment was Godzilla and the worst movie that I saw this year was Deliver Us From Evil.

NathanDewey on Dec 1, 2014

13

I'm slacking big time in the second half of 2014, I've only seen two of the films on the list and have been wanting to see 7 out of the 8 I haven't yet seen, with the only one being Under the Skin which I haven't followed much. There have been a ton of films overall that I've missed, so hard for me to debate on this list.

Justin R on Dec 1, 2014

14

Surprisingly haven't seen much this year now that I look back on it, there's a ton of seemingly great films that I'm still waiting to see such as: Interstellar, Whiplash, Snowpiercer, Nightcrawler, Big Eyes, Selma, American Sniper, Big Hero 6, John Wick, Fury, Inherent Vice, The Drop, Get On Up, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 22 Jump Street, Foxcatcher, The Rover, Frank, Dear White People, and a few other I'm probably missing.
10. Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (3/5)
9. Godzilla (3/5)
8. Edge of Tomorrow (3.5/5)
7. Captain America: The Winter Solider (4/5)
6. The LEGO Movie (4/5)
5. Under the Skin (4.5/5)
4. Guardians of the Galaxy (4.5/5)
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past (4.5/5)
2. Birdman (5/5)
1. The Raid 2 (5/5)

thejon93rd on Dec 1, 2014

15

Everything except UNDER THE SKIN. I get why, but it is the only personal film I did not care for.

DAVIDPD on Dec 1, 2014

16

The Grand Budapest Hotel and Edge of Tomorrow are my personal one-two of the entire year. Damn it. Didn't catch Boyhood and Snowpiercer. Anxious to see those in blu-ray.

leiner on Dec 1, 2014

17

As of now, my top 10 is
10. John Wick
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
8. Guardians of the Galaxy
7. Fury
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Snowpiercer
4. The LEGO Movie
3. Nightcrawler
2. Gone Girl
1. How to Train Your Dragon 2
Other good ones were Boyhood, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, The Raid 2 and 22 Jump Street